Divorce Articles: About The Alimony Calculator

By Staff Writer

An alimony calculator will help you determine how much alimony is needed and for how long. Alimony used to be a standard part of the divorce package, in the days when women rarely worked and had no income outside of the marriage. Now alimony exists only in a small percentage of all divorces, and it is gender-neutral; alimony is calculated according to considerations other than gender.

What an Alimony Calculator Defines

The amount and duration of alimony is now calculated according to the facts of your financial needs and resources, and those of your spouse. An alimony calculator will take into account your education level and employment history, and that of your spouse. It will factor in any health issues you or your spouse may have.

Alimony will be affected by the duration of the marriage. If it was very short, alimony probably will not be awarded. Prenuptial agreements have also changed alimony settlements; a prenuptial agreement is a binding legal agreement which pre-establishes the spouse's claim to any financial remuneration if the marriage ends in annulment or divorce.

Alimony is most feasible in cases where one parent has sole custody of the children and is unable to work because of care-giving. In order to calculate the amount of alimony in this situation, a full cost of living scan is necessary, projected forward through college age for the children. Child support calculators are important to provide a complete financial projection of needs in the divorce settlement.